


Partners

by sokovianaccords (eurogirl)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Peggy Carter as Captain America, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 11:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9722288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eurogirl/pseuds/sokovianaccords
Summary: Evil never takes a holiday, romance be damned.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Some context: this takes place in a universe (from an as-yet-unpublished fic) where Peggy went into the ice and became Captain America in the 21st century. In this 'verse, Steve has been a SHIELD agent since its inception, and the two of them have recently been reunited
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry this is so short, it was a very last minute thing...

Peggy was mid-dip when her phone rang.

“Just ignore it,” Steve pleaded, pulling her upright and into his chest. “I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Peggy said, playfully pressing her hips against his, just to hear his breath hitch. “I’m all yours tonight, darling.”

“I like the sound of that.” Steve grinned and spun them around. Peggy laughed and pulled away, only for Steve to spin her back into his arms. He rested his forehead against hers, and they swayed together, the venue fading into the background.

“Do you remember, all those years ago in that bar in London? You said that when it was all over, you might go dancing?”

Peggy smiled gently and squeezed Steve’s hand. “Of course I do.”

“Was this how you pictured it?”

Before Peggy could even open her mouth to respond, her phone rang again. She rolled her eyes, but then Steve’s rang too.

He sighed. “Duty calls?”

“Evil never takes a day off, darling. Not even Valentine’s Day.” She pulled out of his embrace, albeit reluctantly, and began pulling her curls into a tight French braid. “Now aren’t you glad I insisted we bring the shield?”

Steve frowned. “I think you jinxed it.”

Peggy huffed as she made a beeline for the coat check. “Honestly, Steve, you’re always so dramatic.”

=====

“Nice of you to join us Cap, Agent 13.”

“Bloody robots,” Peggy muttered, decapitating three with her shield. “This was supposed to be our day off, Tony!”

“Well, next time I’ll send the intergalactic robots the Google Calendar, so they can schedule their invasion better,” Tony replied, swooping in and dispatching a whole row with a repulsor blast.

“Would you mind? Thanks ever so much.”

“How about less talking, more destroying robots.” Peggy couldn’t see Sam as he flew overhead, obscured by fog and smoke from the exploding robots, but she could practically hear his eye roll.

Natasha cackled over the comm. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

As her teammates chattered in her ear, Peggy cut a wide swath through the horde of mechanical monsters, eager to call it a night. This was her first real Valentine’s Day with Steve—they had always been apart on the day during the war, and the less that was said about the years between then and now the better—and while she had never felt any real affinity for the holiday, she found herself swept up in the pomp and romantic atmosphere of the day. Only Steve could get her in such a state over manufactured romance, and if she didn’t love him so much, she would have smacked him over the head with her shield for it.

She ripped a robot’s head from its shoulders just as she caught a glimpse of Steve out of the corner of her eye. As she watched, he crushed the head of a robot and used its twitching body to take out three more that had surrounded him. Peggy tugged at the collar of her uniform, suddenly warm despite the cool February evening.  

Steve turned to face her, sensing her gaze. The look he threw her was one she had never seen from him in public, and her knees threatened to give way under the weight of it.

His gaze was arresting and  _hungry_ , and Peggy was so caught up in the way her heart jumped at his frank appraisal that she almost missed the little bastard sneaking up behind him. She threw him the shield with a shout, and he dispatched the robot with ease, as if he had been wielding that shield for the past seventy years.

Peggy sprinted toward him, dodging the occasional swing from a robot arm and stray energy blast, until she stood next to Steve, who was holding his own against two more of the robot horde. She planted herself at his side and dropped into a ready stance, and he sent her a wild grin over his shoulder.

“You ready?” he shouted over the chaos.

He passed her the shield, and she nodded. “With you? Always.”

=====

Peggy stood in the midst of the wreckage, as the emergency services swarmed the scene of the battle. Her ribs ached, her hands stung from a multitude of cuts and scratches, and her leg throbbed where she had been winged by an energy blast from one of the robots. But they had won, at least for today.

There was a loud crash behind her, and she spun around to see Steve trying to navigate through piles of mangled metal robot parts. He was covered in dust and grease, and his tactical gear was torn in the few places the material wasn’t singed. His hair stuck out in every direction, and his usual confident stride had disappeared as he stumbled over the debris.

“Hello darling!” Steve lifted his eyes from his feet and offered her a brief smile as he made his way toward her.

Peggy rushed to meet him halfway. “Steve, what’s wrong? Are you injured?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I just—”

She threaded her fingers through his and pulled him closer, until they stood nose to nose. “What is it?”

"This night was supposed to be perfect.” He ran a thumb over Peggy’s bruised knuckles, and she found herself leaning into his touch. “We finally get to have our dance, after waiting so long, and it’s interrupted by an invasion of alien robots! It feels like every time we come close to something good, time itself seems to yank us away. How—”

Peggy squeezed his hands and eyed him thoughtfully. “Ask me that question again.”

Steve reared back slightly, confused. “What?”

“That question you asked me before we were called in. Ask me again.”

Steve’s brow furrowed as he replayed their earlier conversation. “You mean—is this how you pictured our dance?”

“Yes.” Peggy reached up and ran her fingers through the soft hairs at the nape of Steve’s neck. He shuddered at her gentle touch, and she grinned. “My answer is yes.”

He pulled back with an incredulous expression, and she laughed. “I don’t mean the robots, or the 21st century, or even that I’m the one with the shield. Because I certainly didn’t see any of this coming. But how can you look at what we just did and not call it dancing? I meant it when I said I was looking for the right partner.”

She wrapped her arms around his torso, his heartbeat steady in her ear. “I wanted a partner in everything, Steve, not just a dance. I saw us fighting in tandem on whatever battlefield we faced, conquering a faulty stove the first time we cooked dinner together, presenting a united front against nosy neighbors and judgmental coworkers. We have the chance to build a life together, a chance I thought I lost. I would take that over a completed dance any day.”

She felt something wet hit the top of her head, and she looked up to see Steve’s eyes full of tears, even as he smiled. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Peg.”

Peggy nodded firmly. “Good. Because there’s no way I’m letting you go now, Rogers.”

“I like the sound of that.” Steve raised an eyebrow and dropped his gaze to her lips, slowly, deliberately. He licked his lips, and Peggy felt her knees give as her stomach swooped.

When he didn’t immediately follow through on the promise in his heated look, Peggy pursed her lips. “Well, are you going to kiss me or not? I’m not a big fan of waiting.”

Steve ran one hand up her spine, and suddenly, the world tilted. Her breathless giggles at the surprise dip quickly turned to soft sighs as he followed the curve of her jaw with his lips. And with her last coherent thought before his lips touched hers, she lifted the shield to hide their faces.

The photo, captioned only as “Partners”, went viral anyway.

=====

For their first anniversary, Steve gave Peggy a compass of her own, saying, “Every captain needs a way to find true north.” She could think of no better photo to guide her home.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'm on tumblr at thesokovianaccords, if you like that sort of thing.


End file.
